Monday, December 3, 2012

Find Your Answers In The Scriptures

There’s seems to be a widening gap in The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It involves speculation and ignorance on questions and
discussions that could be answered from the church’s standard works.

Too many members of the church have not read or studied ALL of
the standard works and thus do not know what answers these scriptures have for
often-asked questions.

Also, ever since President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged
church members to read the Book of Mormon in 2005-2006, for too many church
members that is all they seem to do – read the Book of Mormon over and over
again.

They neglect other modern revelations, like the Doctrine and
Covenants and say they aren’t up to the challenge of reading the symbolic and
often hard-to-grasp Old Testament.

The Book of Mormon is the “keystone” to the gospel, but it
is but one of the four standard works of the church.

The newest church members need the Book of Mormon most for
their diet of milk. But, soon, they need meat and that’s where the other
scriptures come in.

Also, reading the other standard works of the church will
affirm to members the validity and consistency of the Book of Mormon, as well
as boost testimonies.

In the past few months, I've met church members who speculated about such things as if this was the wickedest earth and what Kolob is. The answers to these questions are in the scriptures (but not in the Book of Mormon).

President Harold B. Lee said it best when he gave this
counsel in the December 1972 Ensign Magazine (and it has not been repeated
nearly enough over the decades):

“I say that we need to teach our people to find their answers in
the scriptures. If only each of us would be wise enough to say that we aren’t
able to answer any question unless we can find a doctrinal answer in the
scriptures! And if we hear someone teaching something that is contrary to what
is in the scriptures, each of us may know whether the things spoken are
false—it is as simple as that. But the unfortunate thing is that so many of us
are not reading the scriptures. We do not know what is in them, and therefore
we speculate about the things that we ought to have found in the scriptures
themselves. I think that therein is one of our biggest dangers of today.

“When I meet with our missionaries and they ask questions about
things pertaining to the temple, I say to them, as I close the discussion, “I
don’t dare answer any of your questions unless I can find an answer in the
standard works or in the authentic declarations of presidents of the Church.”

“The Lord has given us in the standard works the means by which
we should measure truth and untruth. May we all heed his word: “Thou shalt take
the things which thou hast received, which have been given unto thee in my
scriptures for a law, to be my law to govern my church.” (D&C 42:59.)”